Toyota asks dealership to give back deposits on plug-in Prius

Efforts to be the first in line for the plug-in Toyota Prius have come, uh, unplugged.

Responding to a request by Toyota, Magnussen's Toyota of Palo Alto has refunded $500 deposits to 25 customers who want the plug-in version of the Toyota Prius, due to arrive in late 2009.

Why the about-face?

"We have not announced a timetable for retail sales," Irv Miller, Toyota's group vice president of corporate communications, wrote on the company's Open Road blog.

Toyota has said it will put "several hundred" plug-in Priuses in tests with commercial fleets starting in 2009, but has not revealed when the car will become available to the public.

The publicity over the issue has generated more interest in the model, which promises an extended electric driving range and the ability to charge with a household electrical outlet, said Eric Doebert, the dealership's business development manager. The store now has 44 names of potential customers on its no-money-down waiting list.